Medicare Advantage

Have a Qualifying Diagnosis? Portland C-SNPs for 2027

People in Portland can choose from 45 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 58 this year. 18 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Multnomah County, and 29 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name.

Portland, Ore. — As the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period opens for 2027 coverage, people in the Portland area who live with a serious ongoing health condition have a specific type of Medicare Advantage plan to consider: a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan, or C-SNP. In Multnomah County, where Portland sits, seven C-SNPs will be offered in 2027 by four carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files.

C-SNPs are not for everyone. They are built for people with a specific qualifying diagnosis — such as diabetes, chronic heart failure or certain lung conditions — and enrollment requires a provider to confirm that diagnosis. If you qualify, you also get a Special Enrollment Period, so you are not locked into the October 15 – December 7, 2026 window the way most people are.

How a C-SNP works

A C-SNP is a type of Medicare Advantage plan. Like other Advantage plans, it replaces the way Original Medicare pays your bills and bundles your Part A, Part B and (in these cases) Part D drug coverage together. All seven Portland-area C-SNPs for 2027 include drug coverage.

What makes a C-SNP different is focus. The plan is designed around one chronic condition or a small group of related conditions. That shapes the drug list, the provider network and the care-coordination services the plan offers. Because the plan is tailored, it is only open to people who actually have that condition.

Enrollment requires a qualifying diagnosis. The plan will ask your doctor or other provider to confirm, usually on a short form, that you have the condition the plan covers. If the plan cannot verify it within a set time, your enrollment can be ended.

The 2027 C-SNP list for Multnomah County

Seven C-SNPs will be offered in the county next year, from four carriers. The table on this page lists each one. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• AgeRight Advantage — AgeRight Advantage Premier Health Plan (HMO C-SNP)
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 019 OR (HMO C-SNP), new for 2027
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP PLUS 009 OR (HMO C-SNP)
• Humana — Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP)
• Humana — Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Complete Care OR-5 (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Complete Care Support OR-1A (PPO C-SNP)

Only name a condition the plan name itself names. The Humana plans listed above name diabetes and heart conditions in their titles; the other C-SNPs do not name a specific condition in their title, so you will need to check the plan's own materials or call the plan to confirm which conditions it serves.

For context, Multnomah County has 15 Special Needs Plans across all three types for 2027 — 7 C-SNPs, 2 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, and 4 Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) for people who live in a nursing facility or who need that level of care at home.

How to tell if you qualify

The qualifying list is set by CMS and includes conditions such as diabetes mellitus, chronic heart failure, cardiovascular disorders, chronic lung disorders, end-stage renal disease, HIV/AIDS and several others. Each C-SNP picks the condition or group of conditions it serves.

Two things to check before you apply:

1. The plan serves a condition you have been diagnosed with. The plan will spell this out in its Summary of Benefits and in the enrollment materials. 2. Your provider can confirm the diagnosis. Many plans use a short verification form that your doctor's office signs and returns.

If the plan cannot verify your condition, it will give you a grace period (usually a month or more) to get the paperwork in, and then your enrollment ends if it still is not confirmed.

Your Special Enrollment Period

Most people can only switch Medicare Advantage plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026, with a January 1, 2027 start) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). People with a qualifying chronic condition get an extra path in: a Special Enrollment Period that lets you join a C-SNP when you are first diagnosed, without waiting for a window to open.

Once you are enrolled in a C-SNP, you generally use the normal enrollment windows to change plans later.

What else is changing for 2027

A few program-level numbers to keep in mind as you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs over the year, continues.
• CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible or IRMAA income brackets. Those are usually published later in the fall.

In Multnomah County overall, 18 Medicare Advantage plans from the 2026 lineup are not returning for 2027, 5 are new, and 7 have been renamed. If you are already in a plan, read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) — it spells out any 2027 changes to your specific plan.